NSW Blues Centre of Excellence to end QLD’s Origin dominance

A $20 million investment into a Centre of Excellence in western Sydney will help to end QLD’s decade-long dominance of State of Origin.

NSW Blues players and coach pictured at Sydney Olympic Park in Homebush to announce a new development that will be new home of the NRL Blues team. L to R, Robbie Farrah, Paul Gallen, Laurie Daley and Stuart Ayres.

A $20 million investment into a Centre of Excellence in western Sydney will help to end QLD’s decade-long dominance of State of Origin.

The investment will ensure the NSW Blues have the cutting edge facilities and the best possible preparation for the three biggest rugby league games of the season.

Blues coach Laurie Daley has worked behind the scenes for several months as part of the lobby group to ask the government for assistance.

“This will be the envy of all other codes,” Daley said.

“It will be the best facility in Australia, cutting edge, state of the art.

“We’ll have the facilities to train and prepare like no-one else.

“Doctors, physios, rehab, office space, lecture rooms, an oval.

Artist impressions of the proposed new home of Rugby League — a $20-million NSWRL Centre of Excellence to be built at Sydney Olympic Park.

“Origin is the biggest thing in the game and we’ve got to keep making it bigger and better.”

Daley says it is important the facility is built at the gateway to Sydney’s western suburbs.

“The majority of our players are from the country or out west,” he said.

“Building it on this site is a statement that rugby league has always been a working class game,

“We’re committed to the fans of western Sydney. It’s given us a home and given us a presence where we want to be.”

News that the Blues are committed to a long term future at ANZ Stadium makes a mockery of the NRL backed plan to build a new 65,000 seat stadium in Moore Park.